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Need help to choose a good sharpener-PLEASE!

Hey everyone,
I want to buy a cheap and easy to use sharpening system for my leatherman surge,and my folding knives,I am not know how to sharpen,so I need a easy to use sharpening kit.
I saw this sharpening kits,that look nice and easy to use:

Re: Need help to choose a good sharpener-PLEASE!

Not sure what kind of folding knives you have but the 3-IN-1 sharpener would be a more flexible option as it offers different types of sharpening tools.
Can't say anything on the quality of the sharpeners you listed based on direct experience though.

Re: Need help to choose a good sharpener-PLEASE!

Originally Posted by Labrador72

Not sure what kind of folding knives you have but the 3-IN-1 sharpener would be a more flexible option as it offers different types of sharpening tools.
Can't say anything on the quality of the sharpeners you listed based on direct experience though.

ok,thanks.what do you think about your Pocket Pal sharpener? is it good as a primary sharpener,or is it good only if I have some serious sharpener kit?
because I am not know how to sharpen,so I am need an easy-to-use sharpener,and I can buy only one sharpener.
the two kits you give me is nice,but I'm want a cheaper kit,so what do you think about all the other options I gave? what do you think about the 2 stones sharpening kit with bottle of honing solution of smith's sharpeners? about the 3-IN-1 sharpening system of smith's sharpeners? and what do you think about the 6" Dual grit combo stone of Lansky Sharpeners?
thanks advance.

Re: Need help to choose a good sharpener-PLEASE!

Originally Posted by MT7

Hey everyone,
I want to buy a cheap and easy to use sharpening system for my leatherman surge,and my folding knives,I am not know how to sharpen,so I need a easy to use sharpening kit.
I saw this sharpening kits,that look nice and easy to use:

so which sharpener kit is better?
thanks advance =)

Unfortunately the best thing you can do is to learn to sharpen a knife properly. All of the kits you linked to require some user skill and understanding of creating a good knife edge. You will find lots of excellent tutorials on the internet for sharpening.

I personally use DMT folding hones and a leather strop to create a convex bevel, but this is quite and advanced technique and takes time to get right.

For a no-skill-required I have only seen two real contenders:

Nirey "Professional" Knife Sharpener - KE280

Furi OZITECH Diamond Fingers Pro Knife Sharpener and Honer

also worth considering is the Lansky kits which include a clamp on guide and make it easy to get a good edge.

Both are quite expensive, especially the excellent Nirey machine.

Being able to sharpen your own knives to a hair-popping razor sharp edge is very satisfying. Have fun learning.

Re: Need help to choose a good sharpener-PLEASE!

I have always struggled to get a good edge on a whetstone, but had almost instant success and superior results with the convex method. Both with sandpaper on a mousepad, and more recently with a belt sander...hair popping sharp in not alot of time.

A poor man can only afford to buy the best, once.
Six sigma- even high reliability means a system designed to produce three failures out of every million iterations...

Re: Need help to choose a good sharpener-PLEASE!

Originally Posted by notrefined

I have always struggled to get a good edge on a whetstone, but had almost instant success and superior results with the convex method. Both with sandpaper on a mousepad, and more recently with a belt sander...hair popping sharp in not alot of time.

A belt sander can result in over heating of the edge and excessive material removal, so be careful, and the sandpaper/mousepad method liable to rounding over the cutting edge or scratching the blade sides.

I use flat diamond stones to gradually re-profile the edge and remove material just where needed in order to reproduce the ideal convex edge. This way there is no risk of overheating, rounding over the edge or scratching the blade.

IF I am allowed to recommend another forum, it would be British Blades which has loads of sharpening threads.

Re: Need help to choose a good sharpener-PLEASE!

Originally Posted by MT7

ok,thanks.

ok,thanks.what do you think about your Pocket Pal sharpener? is it good as a primary sharpener,or is it good only if I have some serious sharpener kit?
because I am not know how to sharpen,so I am need an easy-to-use sharpener,and I can buy only one sharpener.
the two kits you give me is nice,but I'm want a cheaper kit,so what do you think about all the other options I gave? what do you think about the 2 stones sharpening kit with bottle of honing solution of smith's sharpeners? about the 3-IN-1 sharpening system of smith's sharpeners? and what do you think about the 6" Dual grit combo stone of Lansky Sharpeners?
thanks advance.

Hi MT7.

I've tried a few of the others, but I would still recommend the Lansky sharpening system. It is absolutely simple to use, absolutely guaranteed to give a great edge to your blade every time. You can go onto youtube and find lots of demo's on how to use it.

If you want to go a cheaper option, there is a Lansky system similar to the diamond sharpeners, but it has their ceramic sharpeners instead of the diamond sharpeners. Still does the same job at around half the price of the diamond sharpeners. I think it's called the Deluxe version instead of the Diamond version.

I know it's a little more money, but you will but it once and not have to worry about looking for something better later on.

Flashlight Selection Process: Pick any two, and only two of the following: Bright, Cheap, Long-Runtime.

Re: Need help to choose a good sharpener-PLEASE!

Originally Posted by bedazzLED

Hi MT7.

I've tried a few of the others, but I would still recommend the Lansky sharpening system. It is absolutely simple to use, absolutely guaranteed to give a great edge to your blade every time. You can go onto youtube and find lots of demo's on how to use it.

If you want to go a cheaper option, there is a Lansky system similar to the diamond sharpeners, but it has their ceramic sharpeners instead of the diamond sharpeners. Still does the same job at around half the price of the diamond sharpeners. I think it's called the Deluxe version instead of the Diamond version.

I know it's a little more money, but you will but it once and not have to worry about looking for something better later on.

OK,thanks,but what are you think about your pocket pal sharpener of smith? is it good as a primary sharpener? or is it good only if I have also some serious sharpener?

Re: Need help to choose a good sharpener-PLEASE!

The Pocket Pal sharpener is good as an emergency sharpener. If I need to sharpen a knife out in the field it works fine, but to get a perfect edge on the knives, I get the Lansky sharpener out when I get home. The good thing about the Pocket Pal is that it works great on serrated knives too.

Flashlight Selection Process: Pick any two, and only two of the following: Bright, Cheap, Long-Runtime.

Re: Need help to choose a good sharpener-PLEASE!

Originally Posted by bedazzLED

The Pocket Pal sharpener is good as an emergency sharpener. If I need to sharpen a knife out in the field it works fine, but to get a perfect edge on the knives, I get the Lansky sharpener out when I get home. The good thing about the Pocket Pal is that it works great on serrated knives too.

I am not want to change the edge shape,I am just want to sharpen the blade if it becomes not sharp,so for this use,Is the pocket pal can be a primary sharpener without any other sharpener? and what about the 2 stones of Smith's sharpeners? (http://www.ebay.com/itm/2-STONE-SHAR...item58926a4cf0) is it good as primary sharpener without any other?

Re: Need help to choose a good sharpener-PLEASE!

If it's within your budget, the Edge Pro Apex is one of the best options out there. It's a rod and stone system, much like the aforementioned Lansky, but it's made with better materials and to higher tolerances.

Re: Need help to choose a good sharpener-PLEASE!

Originally Posted by bedazzLED

The Pocket Pal sharpener is good as an emergency sharpener. If I need to sharpen a knife out in the field it works fine, but to get a perfect edge on the knives, I get the Lansky sharpener out when I get home. The good thing about the Pocket Pal is that it works great on serrated knives too.

Excellent post, and in-line with my own experience with the PP.

I would like to get a Lansky system, as they are on sale at the local farm store...is it considered 'sufficient' for larger, fixed blades ?

Re: Need help to choose a good sharpener-PLEASE!

MT7,
IMO stones are the most versatile and economical for sharpening albeit they require some user skill (holding the proper angle mainly). Your last option, the gray combination stone, is Silicon Carbide (man made) and is known for being aggressive in material removal. A stone made of Aluminum Oxide (India Stones) would be a little more money but it would give better results for your intended use. Also, if you go the stone route, I'd skip the oil and use tap water. It's not as messy, cheaper, and works as well IMO (however if your sharpening carbon steel then I'd use oil). Nortons makes two combination stones I'd recommend, one is an Aluminum Oxide coarse/fine which is about $20, will last a long time, and can be used on everything from shovels to chef knives. The other is Aluminum Oxide and soft Arkansas stone that is medium/extra fine for about $40. Both require user skill and a little practice but the results will show.

Re: Need help to choose a good sharpener-PLEASE!

I bought a basic 3-stone Lansky sharpener about 20 years ago. It is easy to use, and maintains my knives in shaving-sharp condition.

It pays to take a photo of the exact clamp positioning for each of your knives, and title the photo with the primary and (if used) secondary bevel angles. That way, each successive sharpening will exactly follow the pattern established, making the process many times faster and minimizing the amount of metal removed.

Re: Need help to choose a good sharpener-PLEASE!

Originally Posted by funkychateau

I bought a basic 3-stone Lansky sharpener about 20 years ago. It is easy to use, and maintains my knives in shaving-sharp condition.

It pays to take a photo of the exact clamp positioning for each of your knives, and title the photo with the primary and (if used) secondary bevel angles. That way, each successive sharpening will exactly follow the pattern established, making the process many times faster and minimizing the amount of metal removed.

This.

I get my Benchmade 940 with s30v steel to shave hair and Slice through phone book paper with ease. Takes about 15 minutes. It's all about sharpening your blade at the angle your blade is set at.

Re: Need help to choose a good sharpener-PLEASE!

I just realized how old this thread is. Wonder what the OP went with 3 years ago, lol.

That seems to bug people in most forums, I think it's great as there are more options available and you get a snapshot of what was available was at the time.

That said, I love the Spyderco Double stuff. It's supper portable and extremely effective. I also like being able to sharpen freehand as it gives me options out and about rather than lugging around a sharp maker. I struggled quite a bit starting from no experience to freehand until it dawned on me it's much more an art than a science. Now I can hair pop most blade steels in a few minutes provided they dull and not damaged.

Re: Need help to choose a good sharpener-PLEASE!

It doesn't bug me, I just probably wouldn't have commented because the OP has long likely made his choice and no longer checks the thread, purely practical. You make a good point though. Oddly enough I've been eyeing the double stuff for quite a while. Most seem to like it.

Re: Need help to choose a good sharpener-PLEASE!

Originally Posted by P_A_S_1

It doesn't bug me, I just probably wouldn't have commented because the OP has long likely made his choice and no longer checks the thread, purely practical. You make a good point though. Oddly enough I've been eyeing the double stuff for quite a while. Most seem to like it.

I'd pick it up, compact, portable, and once you know what your doing it's a very accomplished feeling touching up your knives freehand. Don't tell your friends you know how, otherwise you'll have an unwanted part time job....

Re: Need help to choose a good sharpener-PLEASE!

Originally Posted by ForrestChump

Thats how I learned. I don't let them get dull enough to use the 400 grit. Im always on the white finer side.

For a long time I had trouble sharpening. I'm comfortable with the results I get now. Looking back I believe the problem was that I had too much 'information' on sharpening without a basic understanding of the process. I actually got a book on sharpening that really broke it down and helped me understand better what I was actually doing.

Re: Need help to choose a good sharpener-PLEASE!

I used a ceramic rod sharpener tonight to work on a serrated bread knife. The rod was from Chicago Cutlery, it was pretty old, and I have no idea what type of grit it was but it ate the steel pretty aggressively and left a good edge in no time, it was fast! It loaded with the steel quickly but cleaned up easy with wet paper towels. In reading on line reviews about ceramic sharpeners I get the impression that they aren't the best route and that diamonds and aluminum oxide are better but I was surprised how well it worked, at least on that one knife (German steel). If the Spyderco ceramics are as good I wonder why they aren't as popular, or for that matter why more manufacturers don't offer ceramics.

Re: Need help to choose a good sharpener-PLEASE!

I've converted to sharpening steels and have not used a stone in years. Unless your blades are really dull you probably only need to true up the edge. If they are dull, a Smith's or equivalent will get you to a an arm-hair-cutting state of sharp quickly, and you can improve on that with a steel from there. At my age it is all about time conservation. A 10-12 inch sharpening steel will do this quicker than a stone, and leave you with a forearm without much hair on it.

I've used a barber's strop for many years too, but recently bought one of these: http://stropman.com/BIG-BOY-Leather-Strop-BIG-BOY.htm. WELL worth the money. Properly used this strop will equip your blade to shave your face. There is a big difference between sharp enough to shave your arm and sharp enough to shave your face. Guess who is the most popular guy at deer camp now.

Re: Need help to choose a good sharpener-PLEASE!

I do the same but I use a piece of leather instead of steel, does the same albeit slower. The steel I have isn't smooth, it ridged, so I tend not to use it unless the edge is getting into bad shape and it's getting close to needing a stone anyway. Then it's medium india for the relief, hard Arkansas for the edge.